[Ansteorra-rapier] Cadets Corner

[RJ Allen]

"If no one knew you, how would they or anyone else know you were/n't
interested in a red/white scarf?" would be my first question.
The only difference between a cadet & none-scarf is the spot of red
(target) on the left shoulder or arm... both catagory levels are still
considered "students". What people make of that "marking difference" of
student is pure politics! I am taking a different tack now, anyway...

When I started rapier (1984) is very little like today (as expected)
BUT some of it still remains the same & holds true, even to today.
Non-scarves are expected to approach the Don's they are interested in
learning from & make their intentions known if they wanted to be a
Cadet. Don's expect this. The Don's schedule tend to be as busy as any
other scarf or non-scarf's.
There are very few fighters that Don's are seen "bidding" on (going to
that non-scarf first before that non-scarf makes a move towards them).
But, 9 out of 10 times, Don's will still wait to be approached. It
would be nice to have them move first, but reality is...?

In my early days before taking a red scarf, I associated a red scarf to
my "future Don(s)" as to being very special, dare I say, like being
engaged, 'cause there had to be something in common with both parties
to spark an interest, if not, a full blown working partnership from the
start. What the two parties decide is between those two parties!
Some part of all of us (me at one point, I'll admit) would love to have
been made a Don/a the way Don Giovanni was made, without being a cadet
or recognized student (from what I remember) at any point in his
career. He played for quite a number of years before that happened, so
what he went through didn't happen overnight. But, it still happened.

The Rapier Community has gone through many overhauls & changes within
the last 5 years alone. We are still adjusting & growing at such a fast
rate. Dress (actually making an effort to research & look the part),
communication abilities (email), fighting & equipment rule changes,
equipment growth & expansion, basic historical research, backing up
research with proof, etc are only a few of many changes.

Attracting members hasn't really been the problem, it's always been
holding their attention long enough to reel them in for the duration of
growth & to stay within the rapier community that has been one of the
issues. (Actually, overall, keeping the people we attract is a major
issue still after all these years). If I had to do it all over again,
I'd only change one aspect (a little bit) & it doesn't really have
anything to do with rapier... go figure. We have to learn to be
flexible, open minded & willing to stay moving forward to keep
progressing.
Thanks for letting me ramble a bit, hope it helped offer a perspective.

regards,
Chrystal Ariana MacRuari
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--- "Coby M. Lynd" <mcdougal at abilene.com> wrote:
> 4) On the need for new blood.  I have heard of people interested in
> rapier
>  that said that unless you weren't interested in being a cadet or
> white
>  scarf,  nobody would train you.  Has anybody else heard this?  I'll
> be the
> first
>  to admit that this may be one person's perception, but if other's
> feel this
> way, then there is a problem.  It's possible for someone to start
> dabbling and once they get the hook in their mouth they're stuck.

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Work Smarter, Play Harder, Live Simplier...
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